Page 26 of The Married Alpha And His Arrow: Vol 1

A wolf whined behind us, and I had to drag Ted to our office, both of us breathing heavily. We got to our office window to see four wolves ripping Henrick and his apart. A black wolf caught my eyes. He hadn’t been there when we ran away. My body wanted to go to him. What was that?

I whispered, “He’s beautiful.” Ted agreed, “Yes, he is.” The black wolf dragged Henrick off into the tree line where we couldn’t see them anymore. I noticed Ted was staring at the brown wolf. I raised an eyebrow, “I was talking about the black wolf, but you appear to be talking about a different one.”

Ted looked away from the window happily asking, “Did you see him? He went all hulking wolf and ripped a man to shreds. GOD, I have never been turned on more in my entire life. I’m going to go take a cold shower at home.”

I laughed, “Don’t lie to me, Ted.” Ted snorted, “Fine, I’m going to see if I can find the brown werewolf and convince him to join me for a warm shower. He got all dirty ripping a man to shreds for me. The least I can do is clean him up.”

I cautioned, “Don’t get eaten by a wolf.” Ted rolled his eyes, “If they wanted to eat us, they would’ve jumped on us, not Henrick’s men. They protected us. I guess Henrick got the attention of werewolves somehow. Why don’t we keep this to ourselves?”

I looked at Ted astonished, “I should tell Heath.” Ted disagreed, “No, you shouldn’t. You should figure out what the hell is going on. First you have a shit alias, and now an old mark shows up. Something is going on. There’s a leak, and you don’t need to feed it. Keep this between us for now.”

The Lieutenant flashed in my mind. Was he really trying to get me killed? Ted broke me out of my thoughts, “Later, you will have to tell me about that look. I know that you’ve been holding something back since your breakup with Noah. I know I’m TeleTed, but I can keep secrets.”

I studied him. This was the most serious I had seen Ted in a long time. I whispered, “Ok, this incident will stay between us.” Ted went back to playful, “Now, I’m off to find a wolf about a rumble in sack.” I looked out the window, “How are you going to find him?”

I turned back around when he didn’t answer to discover he was already gone. I saw a blur go into the forest. Apparently, he planned to chase the damn wolf. If he got eaten, I’d have to kick his ass, then kill a wolf. I’d rather not fight with the werewolves. That could cause problems for Haley, and I really liked Reagan.

Wait! Could those wolves have been from their pack? I picked up my phone and dialed. She answered immediately, “Hello, Lexi? Is everything ok?” I apologized, “Hey, sorry to call out of the blue like this. Is now a good time?” Reagan snorted, “Cameron has run off doing Goddess knows what after my brother-in-law called him. So, I have plenty of time.”

That was the perfect segway, “Actually, I might have seen your husband then. My colleague and I were ambushed. We had it handled but these wolves jumped out of nowhere to defend us. There was a brown wolf, a big black wolf, and two blonde ones. I know they were probably on border patrol, and we really did have it handled, but I appreciate the help. My partner can fight, but he’s more of a lover.”

Reagan was quiet for several moments. She spoke slowly, “My husband is a black wolf, but all Alpha’s are. I’ll have to ask Cameron if he was out there. You are very close to my brothers-in-law territory. They could’ve been out running there. I’m glad you are ok.”

I blew out a breath, “I’ll admit I panicked for a brief moment because I’ve never fought with werewolves. Plus, having Ted out there with me was not ideal. I’d protect him with my life.” Reagan laughed, “I can’t wait to meet this Ted of yours. Are we still on for dinner?” I confirmed, “Definitely. Thank you again for the help.” Reagan said, “We are always willing to help out our friends.”

I hung up the phone. If I’d have had my bow, the wolves tearing people to shreds wouldn’t have been needed. I was good at hand-to-hand combat too, but definitely more skilled with the bow. This did highlight that I needed to make sure to put a weapon out my meeting spot with Ted. I’d put a gun out there for him, just in case. I would not be caught unaware again.

My body was humming. I had anticipated a fight but didn't get one. I knew I’d made the right call to leave with Ted though. The wolves handled it, and Henrick would’ve gone after Ted first. I would never let one of my marks hurt those I cared about.

Ted might have to join Sally in her self-defense class. I looked up one near here that had classes on a Wednesday. I found one at ten in the morning, which worked perfectly. I made a note for Ted to put that on mine and Sally’s calendar. I would talk to him tomorrow about joining her.

I sent a text to Haley asking her to use her fairy magic to conceal weapons in the space behind the hotel. She agreed saying it was a good tactic. I sighed in relief. I didn’t want Haley to find out about this. Combined with the bad alias, she’d be out for blood asking questions later.

I couldn’t go at this with my emotions. I needed to carefully evaluate and try to piece this together. For Sally and Heath’s sake, I couldn’t accuse the Lieutenant without evidence. If this was him, Heath would have no choice but to kill him. While I would be fine with that, I didn’t want that for my brother. I wanted Noah gone from my life and Sally’s, but I needed to be sure. I couldn’t take my next steps purely on a hunch.

I sighed and gathered my stuff. Someone was still following me. Did Henrick bring more men. No, the wolves would’ve smelled them. My mind whirled with option when the obvious answer hit me. The werewolves were probably making sure I was ok. I felt bad, but I still had to lose them. They wouldn't understand why my car and I just disappeared.

It took longer to shake them than the other night, but I managed. If wolves were going to start following me, I’d have to start running to work. They couldn’t keep up with me. I dreamed about the black wolf that night. He was defending me, but instead of running I fought with him. He let me pet his fur, then he knelt down.

I instinctually knew he wanted me to get on his back. We ran like that for what felt like hours. He looked into my eyes, and I just knew he wanted to shift into his human form for me. I smiled and nodded. He stepped back and my alarm blaring woke me up with a jolt.

I sat up frowning. I wanted to know what the black wolf looked like in human form. GOD, Lexi. It was a dream. I got up and called a flower shop to order flowers for Alpha Cameron’s pack with a note thanking them for their assistance.

Henrick going missing could cause a problem, but more than likely his office would close ranks and replace him without a fuss. Ted’s threat about Mr. Jones wasn’t wrong. Mr. Jones was a supernatural recruiter. He ran his business with an iron fist. If I had been caught hacking Henrick’s system while on the job, Mr. Jones would’ve done nothing to help me.

Now though, it came off as a jealous ex-lover. Mr. Jones knew I had many names, and that was a member of the Hood. He allowed us in places, but never helped if we got caught while on the job. It was a rule.

When I got to the office, I was surprised I’d beaten Ted in. I swear to GOD he better not have gotten eaten by a wolf. Ted came bouncing into the office right at nine. I raised an eyebrow asking, “Is that a new scarf? Boy, you look happy. Are you hiding a hickey?”

Ted laughed, “Maybe, but this is not a new scarf, I just haven’t worn it yet. It’s great though, isn’t it?” I agreed, “It’s very you. I’m guessing you tracked down the brown wolf.” Ted snorted, “Did I ever. Let me tell you, you’ve gotta get yourself a wolf. Stamina of a champion. Those boys eat their damn Wheaties. I’ve locked this one down.” I was stunned, “It was that good?” Ted smirked, “It really was. Best I’ve ever had.”

I gaped, “You’re serious?” Ted nodded, “Uh huh. I’ve got myself a date later tonight.” I teased, “Go on with your bad self, Ted.” Ted smiled. He briefly looked guilty then we got to work. Sally brought us lunch. She’d made fried chicken with mashed potatoes, and she gave Ted a whole apple pie.

Sally and I exchanged looks when Ted turned red as a tomato when she mentioned she felt bad about it the other day. Ted looked between us. Sally gently reminded him, “You do recall coming in the store DEMANDING I give you a piece of the best apple pie you’ve ever smelt, right?” Ted shook his head, “Ummm yes I do. I feel silly, you didn’t even have the pie. You didn’t have to make this.”

Sally gave me a look. I shrugged. She reached out her hands for the pie, “Well then I’ll just take it...” Ted slapped her outstretched hands, “I mean you went to all the trouble to make it. Who turns down a Sally Quaid pie? Not me. This is my pie; you gave it to me.” Sally and I laughed. That was the normal Ted.

I informed them, “I signed you both up for self-defense classes on Wednesday’s at ten in the morning.” Ted grumbled but agreed. Sally gave me a hug, “Thank you.” I lowered my voice, “I’ll always have your back.”

---